England Adventures: Bristol

To really kick off my new life adventures, I get to spend three weeks in England this month! It’s really the first time I’ve had a vacation without the stress of work that could be going wrong at any moment looming back home, so I’m incredibly excited to enjoy this trip to its fullest.

We landed Sunday (long flight, thank goodness for moments of sleep and free wine), then travelled by bus and train to Bristol, and finally collapsed at our rental flat in the early evening. So Monday was the first day of adventuring! Matt set off to work, and I set off to battle the high winds and rain with a stubborn determination to still enjoy sightseeing in spite of Storm Imogen (yep, it had a name - ominous).

I’ve technically been to Bristol before, but it was a very short moment over two years ago, and in a very limited area of the city. So I walked as much as I could through the wind and rain, and had a really enjoyable day! I walked up Brandon Hill (even though I couldn’t go up Cabot Tower due to the winds), wandered around much of the City Centre and Old City areas, spent time in the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, walked along the river and explored the SS Great Britain, enjoyed good food and coffee, and had an enjoyable evening with Matt’s friends at a pub quiz.

Of course, I took tons of photos! It’s a very photogenic city. And despite the wind that was threatening to blow me away, the shots turned out quite nicely! Note that I did visit the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, but didn’t take photos inside - however, one thing I will note, their extensive taxidermy section (showing off “World Wildlife”) is actually a little creepy. Well done of course, but still creepy!

After yesterday’s stormy weather, today was pretty gorgeous in Bristol. Even though I may have caught a slight cold with the wind and rain yesterday (go figure), I still managed to wander around the neighborhood we’re staying in, parts of Bristol University, Clifton, and ultimately made my way across the suspension bridge to Ashton Court. A LOT of walking, but it was mostly sunny and the photos were totally worth it!